If hitting is contagious, then every member of the Warren County High School softball team is contaminated.
After struggling at the plate for the first two weeks of the season, the Lady Pioneers broke out of their slump in a big way last week.
Warren County continued to crush the ball Thursday night en route to beating the Shelbyville Eaglettes 9-5 at home.
Warren County (5-5) won four straight games after starting the season by losing five of its first six games.
Hitting has the been the key in the last three victories as the Lady Pioneers have scored 35 runs in three games.
Warren County got the offense going early against Shelbyville as the Lady Pioneers plated five runs in the first inning.
Lauren Wilkinson got the game started with a single, then Chelsea Cope landed the ball right behind a drawn-in defense for a single of her own.
With the two speedsters on base, Monica Lane delivered a two-run double into center field to give the Lady Pioneers an early lead.
Lane would come in to score on the next play as Taylor Grissom hit a shot to first that was too hot to handle. The error allowed Grissom to reach base and Lane to score from second and make it 3-0.
Back-to-back walks to Morgan Frye and Sarah Jacobs loaded the bases. Samantha Weeter grounded a ball to third that looked like a potential double play waiting to happen.
Instead, Shelbyville didn’t get anybody out. Grissom sprinted toward home and knocked the catcher off balance with a hard slide. The ball beat Grissom, but the umpire ruled the catcher moved off the plate and called Grissom safe.
Peytan Hall wrapped up the scoring with an RBI single as Warren County gave Gabi Keith a five-run cushion to work with.
Keith earned the win by pitching a complete game and giving up five runs on 12 hits while striking out six. It was Keith’s fourth victory in the span of seven days.
Four of those hits came in the third when Shelbyville plated two runs, then four more came in the seventh as the Eaglettes rallied to make the score respectable.
By the time Shelbyville plated two runs in the top of the seventh, the Lady Pioneers had already taken a 9-3 lead.
Warren County scored four runs in the fourth to seal its fifth win.
Wilkinson started with a triple, then scored on a single by Cope. Lane followed with a single, then Grissom loaded the bases with a single of her own.
With the bases juiced for the second time in the game, Shelbyville once again failed to make a play on a ground ball.
Frye hit a sharp shot to third base, but the throw home sailed wide of the catcher as Cope scored. Lane noticed nobody was covering home in the scramble for the ball and she won the race to home with the third baseman to make it 8-2.
Grissom would score later on another error as Warren County took a commanding seven-run lead.
Three late runs by the Eaglettes hardly put a dent in the advantage as the Lady Pioneers ended the night the same way the team did Monday in its first home game, dancing in right field as D.J. Khalid’s “All I Do is Win,” blasted from the speakers.
Wilkinson, Cope, Lane, Grissom and Hall each finished with two hits.
Lane led the team with two RBIs.
Warren County will be looking for payback tomorrow night with the Oakland Lady Patriots visit town.
Oakland beat the Lady Pioneers in the season opener in Murfreeboro 7-5.
Tomorrow’s game is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.